The Apple Watch is as likely to damage sale of iPhones as it is to hurt Swiss watchmakers, according to Swatch Group chief executive Nick Hayek.
In an interview with Bloomberg following an upbeat trading statement, Mr Hayek was asked about the future for luxury watches in a week when Apple claims to have overtaken Rolex to become the world’s number one watchmaker.
“I just wonder if one day there is some cannibalisation between the Apple Watch and the iPhone,” Mr Hayek replied.
The Apple Watch Series 3 can communicate directly with a mobile phone network, without being tethered to a mobile phone.
Mr Hayek said that he expects momentum in the first half of 2017 to build for the remainder of this year.
“We’ve seen the acceleration in July already, in August it got stronger and September looks like August: very positive,” Mr Hayek told Bloomberg.
Richemont has also reported rising sales this year. In a trading update, the owner of Cartier, Montblanc and Jaeger-LeCoultre, said that turnover was up for the first five months of its financial year.
